Saint John, New Brunswick, has a chip on its shoulder about being confused with Saint John's, Newfoundland, and given that the two cities have been confusing travellers for 300 years, the frustration is understandable. But Saint John, New Brunswick — no apostrophe — deserves to be known on its own terms. It's Canada's oldest incorporated city (1785), it sits at the mouth of the Saint John River where it meets the Bay of Fundy, and it has a fascinating geological phenomenon right in the middle of the city that no other place on Earth replicates.
The Reversing Falls
The Reversing Falls are not actually falls — the name refers to the reversal of the Saint John River's current twice daily, caused by the meeting of the river and the Bay of Fundy's extraordinary tides. When the bay tide is high, it pushes back against the river current, and the water in the narrow gorge flows upstream. When the bay tide is low, the river flows normally downstream. At the transition points between these two states — slack tide — the water in the gorge becomes briefly navigable, which is when commercial vessels can pass through. At other states it churns in complex standing waves and whirlpools.
The Reversing Falls Visitor Centre on the east bank of the gorge has viewing decks, a tide schedule, and explanations of the phenomenon. Jet boat tours launch from the centre at specific tidal stages to take visitors into the gorge itself — a surprisingly dramatic experience. The Skywalk attraction above the gorge gives an elevated perspective. Come twice if you can: once near high tide and once near low tide. The difference in what you're looking at is striking enough to feel like two completely different places.
Uptown Saint John
The Uptown district (Saint John's term for its downtown core — locals insist on "uptown" and are bemused when visitors say "downtown") occupies a promontory above the harbour with late-19th-century stone commercial buildings that survived the great fire of 1877. The aftermath of that fire — which destroyed much of the earlier city — produced the unified architectural character of the current uptown, as buildings were rebuilt in a consistent Victorian commercial style. King Street, the main commercial artery, has a particular character in the morning fog that drifts in from the bay.
The Saint John City Market, opened in 1876 and the oldest continuing farmers' market in Canada, occupies a single-room market hall with a barrel-vault roof and original wooden stalls. It runs Tuesday through Saturday and sells produce, local fish, dulse (dried seaweed, a Maritime delicacy that tastes better than it sounds), bread, honey, and prepared food from vendors who have often been in the market for generations. The dulse vendor, in particular, is worth visiting even if you're not sure you want to try it — the varieties and grades of this distinctive local product are explained patiently.
The Irving Nature Park
The Irving Nature Park on the western shore of Saint John is 243 hectares of natural coastal habitat — salt marshes, sea cliffs, forest and tidal pools — donated by the Irving family and managed by the Nature Trust of New Brunswick. It's free to enter and has a network of walking trails that follow the cliff edges and beach fronts of the peninsula. The park is a major stopover for migratory shorebirds in fall, and the coastal views back toward the city and across the Bay of Fundy are excellent. It's the kind of urban nature park that most visitors to Saint John don't know about.
Saint John works well as a base for exploring the Fundy coast — it's about 30 minutes from Fundy National Park and an hour from the Hopewell Rocks. A two-night stay with a day trip to each of those destinations covers the major highlights of the New Brunswick Fundy coast without requiring constant packing and moving.
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